The ManicaPost
Shelton Mwanyisa
Emerging Educational Issues
The introduction of Continuous Assessment Learning Activities (CALAs) heralded a new approach to the educational processes.
The controversy that followed confused rather than convinced many.
Uncovering the roles of stakeholders responsible for the implementation of CALAs will eliminate the confusion surrounding CALAs.
Welcome to the column Emerging Educational Issues.
With CALAs, the teachers’ roles changed from teacher as a mentor, to teacher as the audience and also teacher as an evaluator.
This week we continue with CALAs issues as we explore the roles and responsibilities of teachers during implementation of CALAs.
In this way we eliminate the confusion being faced by the various stakeholders.
Developing CALAs
The initial role of the teacher is to develop Continuous Assessment Learning Activities and instruments.
Remember, a good CALA is a product of ability to identify a problem in the environment.
CALA topics are guided by the concepts in the national syllabus.
Topics must be specific whilst being related to a problem identified by both the teacher and learners.
The activity is done per learning area and is broken down into termly components. Specific skills to be gained by learners should be outlined in CALA guides.
The teacher provides learners with the background of the problem to be solved.
The parameters of the CALA need to be clear and applicable to all students.
This involves setting time frames that require all students to cover steps or points.
Failure to set clear and fair parameters can result in marking that is unfair and inconsistent.
Facilitating learningFacilitate learning becomes paramount as soon as students are made aware of what they are expected to do.
The teacher’s duty is to facilitate the execution of the CALA by explaining the requirements of the CALA to the learners and explaining the conditions under which the CALA should be executed.
It must be noted that buying CALAs, plagiarism and other forms of malpractice counter the holistic development of the child.
The CALA is generic and therefore the teacher should explain to learners that the CALA can be implemented in any environment using locally available resources.
Commercializing CALA is therefore an abhorrent practice!
Learning takes place when learners are given enough time to demonstrate skills on an activity.
Offer meaningful guidance through suggestions and feedback to help learners stay on track with their CALA.
By assessing themselves, learners develop critical and analytical skills which increase learner responsibilities, among other virtues.
Administering CALA instrumentsThe teacher should administer CALA instruments.
These are learner CALA guides with topic, background to the problem and context of the problem to be solved.
Learners should be informed with detail of the problem and what needs to be done, including mark allocation were applicable.
There must be detailed information on how the learner will be assessed.
Learners should have access to the instrument-specific standards before the assessment, so that they know the standards that will be used to make a judgment and understand how the qualities of their responses may be matched to standards descriptors.
Supervising
The teacher assumes the supervisory role by providing feedback to learners during activity execution.
Supervision information enables teachers, learners and other key stakeholders to know what learners can do with or without assistance and what they can do when working individually and in groups.
Marking individual CALAs
Marking plays a formative role when it is applied to a CALA directly related to the preceding teaching and learning process.
Marking becomes a critical process and should not be taken as a witch hunting exercise.
A marking guide is used in marking of learners’ work.
Make expectations clear to all learners before marking takes place so as to make marking fair and feedback acceptable.
It should be noted that generally marks carry a great deal of importance for learners and therefore objectivity should be exercised in assigning marks.
Marking group CALAs When marking group CALAs consider that only a few marks come from group assessments.
Also note that each learner can be given additional responsibility for a separate section of the group CALA.
Teachers should make sure that weaker learners do not take undue credit on the skills of stronger students.
Teachers can use quantitative marks or qualitative marks, which are expressionist.
The work is then put into levels, according to which descriptors it satisfies.
Special needs learners
Teachers are responsible for developing assessment activities for learners with special needs.
There is need to provide alternative part questions of the activities and suggesting exemptions where necessary.
Exemptions shall be treated as the last resort measure where modification and alternatives would have failed to remove the barriers imposed by the assessment activity.
Exemptions shall be done in consultation with ZIMSEC so that the proper procedures shall be applied consistently.
Record keeping
It is the responsibility of the teacher of a particular learning Area (subject) to ensure that each learner has a CA folder which is well labelled and segmented.
For the teacher, they need CALA for each level, marking schemes for each CALA, achievement standards for each CALA to explain how learner performance on CALAs will be graded.
Teacher’s guide explains the CALA to the teacher and the conditions under which the activity must be executed.
Learner’s guide explains the conditions of the learner’s work.
Reporting
The learners’ performance should be reported to the learners, parents and the administration.
Communication between the teacher and the parent should not wait until the submission dates are overdue.
Reporting on the progress and challenges being experienced is an ongoing process.
Unethical practices
Be reminded that teachers are bound by ethics of the teaching profession.
Under no circumstances should anyone sell CALAs, write the CALA for the learners and or provide undue assistance to the learners.
If anyone is suspected of committing any one of the above cases, a report must be completed and forwarded to ZIMSEC Regional Offices for appropriate action.
The CA activities should be seen as part of all other day to day learning activities.
It is my sincere hope that CALA issues are being simplified and confusion cleared.
Do not miss the next edition of The Manica Post for the roles and responsibilities of parents and learners in CALAs.
